Young Blood
by Yuusha no Tamashii
Summary: "What are you afraid of? You want to see the world, don't you?" the freckled boy extended a hand towards her. "Come see it with me!" And then she realized what he reminded her of-the sun. AceXOC
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I'm so horrible. I kept telling myself that I wouldn't start posting this story until I'm finished with my Shaman King story and after I have saved at least ten chapters for this story. It turns out that I barely have three chapters right now, but I'm going to post it anyway.

Well, this is my first One Piece fanfic ever and to be honest, I'm a little nervous because I'm not really up-to-date with the series. I'll try my best not to ruin OP's canon storyline that much.

The story is mainly One Piece and crosses over with a certain series of Disney movies. It might sound a little ridiculous, but if you've read my other stories before, you know how I like that kind of stuff, hehe. If anything gets confusion, please leave me a review and I'll try to be more descriptive in the future chapters!

**Young Blood**

**Chapter 01**

**Open Your Window, Open Your Door**

The day starts out like this: clean every visible and hidden space in the third floor, then clean every visible and hidden space in the second floor, then do the same for the first floor. Glass needs extra care because any trace of fingerprint on them is unacceptable. The cement in between tiles need special attention since mold can grow easily. Then, after the interior of the mansion, the exterior also needs to be cleaned. And after all that, there's also the backyard, front yard, garden, pool, fountain, and all the fancy carriages that the master owns. And when everything's done, do them all over again to make sure everything is spotless.

That would basically sum up Aura's everyday life.

Aura had been a slave in the Outlooks' mansion for about three years. In these three years, Aura only felt a few things: dirt, mold, water, soap, the handle of her broom, and pain from Master Outlook's cane or Madam Outlook's porcelain cups or Master Stelly's fists. There wasn't much of anything else in Aura's life, but when she thought about it, she would be considered lucky. Most of the other slaves that came to the Outlook's mansion at the same time as her had died already. Not by natural causes, of course.

Aura was currently the one and only slave in the Outlooks' mansion. It was, of course, tiresome to do everything by herself, but she wouldn't wish for even her worst enemy to become a slave in this mansion. There was a rumor going around that the Outlooks' reputation was taking a tumble because of their rebellious, and most of their anger was turned onto the slaves. Each year, the death rate of the Outlooks' slaves increases.

Secretly, she wondered when will it be her turn.

"I heard that you found Sabo! Great news!"

"Hahaha! Yes, thank you!"

Aura was trimming the plants in the garden when she overheard her master and the nobleman from next door talking at the front gate. Out of curiosity, she peeked through the bushes. There was a boy who looked slightly taller than Master Stelly. He had short blonde hair and wore a funny looking top hat. However, that was all she could see since he was facing the other way. It was easily assumable that the boy was Master Outlook's missing son. Aura took a mental note of the name; she was going to have an additional master, it seems.

* * *

"Who are you?"

Aura stood at the doorway to Sabo's room, looking down at her feet. She held out the broom in her hands a little bit forward to show that she was here to clean. Looking at your master in the eyes was strictly not allowed.

Sabo looked at the young girl up and down. She seemed to be around the same age as him, but was dirty and wore nothing but what looked like a potato sack that was too big on her.

"Are you… a…" _Slave?_

Sabo could not bring himself to say the word that he had in mind, but Aura understood. She nodded.

_But she looks about my age. _An angry look surfaced on Sabo's face. _The nobles here are still as rotten as ever. _

"You don't have to clean here; I won't ask you to do anything for me."

Aura chewed on her bottom lip. Her face looked troubled. In fact, she thought her new master was a little bit weird. He wasn't like the others in this mansion. The way he curled up with his face hidden in between his knees next to the foot of his bed was very unlike Master Outlook and Master Stelly, who always walked around with large strides. But there was something else that was really bothering her.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Sabo approached the girl who just stood there strangely. She seemed like she wanted to do something, but was hesitating.

"Please forgive me, Master!"

Sabo barely heard what the girl muttered before she took a step into his room and walked past him quickly. He watched her with confusion as she went to the big window and pulled the curtains apart. The sunlight coming in suddenly hurt his eyes for an instant, and the girl had already pushed the window open. A blast of fresh air filled the room.

"Condensation will gather at the windowsill through the night," Aura continued to mutter while wiping the windowsill with a towel. "When the moisture keeps experience cold and hot air, mold will start growing… so you gotta open the window sometimes to ventilate…"

Sabo blinked at the little girl. "Um… thanks?"

Aura said nothing in response and quickly walked toward the door. However, Sabo grabbed onto her arm as she passed by him, and by doing so he felt her body twitch.

"I'm not going to beat you!" he said as he instantly understood her reaction, "Hey… what's your name?"

"…It's Aura…" she said, still looking down.

"…Aura?"

She nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Aura," Sabo said with a bright smile. "My name is Sabo."

Aura did not want to look at the boy, but something compelled her to do so. Master Sabo had round eyes like the breakfast rolls that Master Stelly never finishes, and a really big smile that's missing a tooth. The dirty clothes that he wore before was thrown out earlier; she saw them in the trash. He was now put in clothes that look like Master Stelly's. She was glad that Master Sabo was clean now, but somehow she thought that the style did not suit him well.

"How old are you?" asked Sabo.

Aura chewed on her bottom lips again, and looked around anxiously. She wasn't allowed to talk to any of her masters. But she never had such an urge to talk to anyone, since her masters only called her names and swore at her. This Master Sabo was different. He gave off a different kind of vibe from her masters and even all of the other nobles that come to visit the Outlooks.

Sabo seemed to have noticed her unease. Just like how Aura strutted toward the windows, Sabo raised his chin and walked toward the door, then shutting the door. He came back to Aura with a mischievous smile, "You can talk now!"

"…I'm ten." Aura said shortly.

"Ten?!" Sabo took in a big breath. "That's the same age as me! I can't believe that they'd even enslave children… That's too cruel! I'm sorry… that my family has…"

Aura shook her head. Master Sabo was a lot nicer than Master Stelly. She was supposed to hate her masters, but something about his sincerity made her feel almost embarrassed.

"Listen," Sabo grabbed Aura by the shoulders, which startled her so much that she almost wacked him with her broomstick. But she did not perform the act when she saw the seriousness in the young boy's eyes. "I've got friends—brothers—out there! In the Gray Terminal! I heard from Stelly that they're going to burn that place down… I've gotta get out of here and let my brothers and the others in the Gray Terminal know or they'll die!"

Aura blinked at the boy; she did not know what the Gray Terminal was nor about the planned burning of it, but he looked deadly serious about getting out of the mansion. She understood that he probably cared about his friends a lot, but she felt remorse not being able to help. She has never, in these past three years, left the Outlooks vicinity even once.

"I…" she looked down and bit on her lips while mumbling, "I cannot help you… I have not been out of this place since I first stepped in…"

"We can escape together!" Sabo pressed on. "Through the window… it's impossible to get down five stories without a rope, and I don't have enough sheets and curtains to tie together. You can get those things, right? You must have access to the laundry room!"

"I cannot help you, Master Sabo!" Aura raised her voice slightly to get her point across, but not too much as to anger the boy or to be heard by her other masters in the mansion.

Sabo loosened his grip on Aura's shoulders. A disappointed expression clearly plastered across his face, but he did not plead her anymore. He understood that she was probably too scared. If his parents found out that she stole bed sheets from the laundry room, the punishment would be severe. And if their escape was unsuccessful, he could not even imagine what they would do to an escaping slave.

"Okay, I will do this on my own, but…" he looked at her with sympathy and conviction. "Aura, I will help you escape. It may not be now, but one day I'll get you out of here. I promise!"

Aura was bewildered that Sabo gave her such a promise. They had only just met and barely exchanged a few words. Years later, she would laugh at her ten-year-old self for being so simple-minded, but at that moment, she was truly touched. Even if he only said it out his disgust toward the nobles, even if there was very little accountability in the promise of a ten-year-old boy, Aura felt something that she'd never felt before in the Outlooks' mansion—hope.

The sunlight that shined through the open curtains and windows behind Sabo now showered over the young boy. It made his big smile and blonde hair almost too bright for Aura's eyes.

But she could not look away.

* * *

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Young Blood**

**Chapter 02**

**Children of the Future**

"Let go of me! Don't touch me, you filthy bastard!"

The terrible shrieking from down the hallway made Aura jump when she was on her late-night dish-washing duty. Normally, the Outlook household was very quiet at the midnight hour with everyone asleep and only Aura up and about. She could tell very clearly that it was Sabo's voice, and it came from the front door.

"How dare you talk to your father like that, Sabo?! You should be begging for my forgiveness! I've given so many second chances and my patience is really running thin!"

"I will not call you a father! Not even a human! Someone who would just let innocent people burn to ashes is not a human!"

"Oh, is that what you think?" Master Outlook's voice was as cold as the marble floors of his mansion. "I have told you this many times. Those filthy people in the Gray Terminal are nothing but maggots. They are not innocent; it's a sin for them to be born in the first place."

"THOSE ARE MY FRIENDS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU BASTA—"

Sabo's voice was silenced by a nasty crackling sound and a thud. Feeling worried, Aura tip-toed down the corridor as quiet and quickly as she could to see what was happening. She hid behind the back of a staircase and peeked at what was happening at the front door. Sabo was on the floor, holding his nose, while Master Outlook stood over him, red-faced and heaving big breaths.

"How dare you try to lay a hand on your father…"

"YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER! I…"

Just as Master Outlook raised his hand again to strike down on Sabo, a shattering sound caught both of their attention. They turned their heads toward the dark hallway. One of the porcelain pots on display lay shattered on the floor next a devastated Aura. Even though she stood so far away, Sabo saw clearly how much her body shook.

"My porcelain!" Master Outlook gasped. "You useless slave! I ought to break your neck!"

The colossal man marched toward Aura, still enraged by his rebellious son. Sabo almost wanted to cover his eyes, not knowing what was going to happen to the young girl. He had already seen the Gray Terminal go up in flames today; he did not have to see more tragedy. There was a man out there who helped him alert the people inside the Gray Terminal, but inside Goa Kingdom, who was going to help this slave girl?

"Don't touch her!" he cried.

But he knew it was futile, and he had never wished as hard as now to be stronger.

* * *

Aura showed up in Sabo's room to clean on the next day as if nothing had happened. When Aura entered his room, Sabo immediately jumped up to examine Aura's wounds. Luckily, Master Outlook did not carry weapons with him at that time, so he had only used his fists to punish Aura for breaking his porcelain. There were bruises and cuts all over her. Sabo expressed his regret and anger through a series of foul language and insults towards his father.

"You didn't have to save me," said Sabo, his tone filled with guilt. "He could have killed you."

Aura shook her head. "Master Outlook wouldn't kill me. I was a very expensive item."

Although Sabo could not fully understand what Aura had meant, he was still deeply disturbed by how lightly Aura spoke about the way his father had beaten her.

"Still… you had nothing to do with it! Enough people have been hurt because of me…"

Sabo hung his head low. Aura had not wanted to be too involved with the affairs of the Outlooks, who enslaved and tormented her; however, she had noticed that Sabo was quite different from the rest of his family. The bright smile that lasted only a moment on that day that they met for the first time was so genuine that she remembered that is what a child's smile is supposed to look like. And the way that he stood up against what he thought was wrong reminded her of the humanity that she lost touch with a long time ago.

"It's all right. I have not been hurt that badly. Besides, I could never be able to stand the sight of a foul man beating an innocent child."

"But you are a child too!" Sabo frowned at Aura; the girl said many strange things.

"Oh, but I am different from you," Aura said, "If I tell you what I really am, you might not believe me."

Aura's words aroused Sabo's curiosity.

"Tell me. I know that they are all kinds of strange and amazing things outside of Goa Kingdom. That's why I want to be a pirate! To sail the seas and have adventures that will take me to see all these wondrous new things, and I will write a book about it!"

"A pirate?" Aura repeated the word with a hint of disapproval, in which Sabo quickly assured her that he wasn't going to be a bad pirate, but one who sails the seas freely and live a life without regrets.

"That's my promise with my brothers. We are all going to live a free life when we're old enough."

Sabo's eyes gleamed at the mentioning of his brothers. From their last conversation, Aura knew that the brothers that he spoke of weren't his brothers through blood. But by looking at the way Sabo became energized and so full of determination, she could tell that the bond they shared was stronger than blood. His big round eyes were filled up with hope, and it seemed like he believed one hundred percent that he was capable of escaping this corrupt kingdom.

"I'll help you," said Aura finally.

Sabo was dumbstruck for a full ten seconds, but gloom overcame him right after. "I really appreciate that thought, but... you can't help me now. That pig of a father of mine barred my windows. And just getting out of this house is not enough, because he'll eventually catch me again…"

"Not unless you can fly."

"Yeah, well, don't we all wish we can do that?"

"I can," said Aura. "And I can teach you how."

Sabo looked really skeptical this time. Could this little girl be a fruit user like Ace and Luffy? If she really could fly, then why hasn't she escaped?

"Did you… eat a Devil Fruit?"

Aura nodded, but shook her head after. "I did, but that's not the reason why I can fly. You see, where I came from, everyone can fly. We are not human, even though I may look like one now."

Sabo gave her a puzzled look. She turned around so that her back was facing him, and reached her hands to her back and grabbed the raggedy cloth that she wore as a shirt. Before Sabo could stop her, she ripped an opening down her back and stopped just around her waist. Sabo covered his eyes very quickly, blushing and yelling about how a girl should not behave that way.

"Look at my back," said Aura.

Sabo slowly removed his hands from his eyes, and when he saw her back, he was astonished. A pair of translucent wings was before him. They looked thinner than paper, and there were thin white veins that ran throughout them in swirl patterns. And they had a sort of spark, making them iridescent.

"Whoa…" Sabo blinked his big round eyes hard. "So… what _are_ you?"

Aura turned around and had that nervous face that she has, biting the bottom of her lips. She was scared of Sabo's reaction. Sabo gave her a look that said that she could trust him.

"I… I am a fairy," said Aura finally. "I came from a place called Pixie Hollow very far away from here."

"A fairy?!" Sabo gasped. "I never knew they existed! What do fairies do? What exactly _are _fairies?"

Seeing Sabo's curious expression, Aura was slightly relieved. "Many people think we are a myth, and that is because we want them to. Fairies have a very important task, and that is bringing forth the change of seasons. There are different types of us; we all have a specific 'talent' that helps prepare the change of seasons. I, for one, am a Fast-Flying Fairy, and I can create wind. We only come close to humans four times a year, but we are very small and we stay out of human sight. However…"

Horror loomed over Aura's face as she recalled the incident one year ago. "One spring when we came down to bring summer forward, I was separated from my group. I was very curious about the island that we were assigned to; it was one that I've never been to. I saw so many kinds of fruits that I've never seen before, and I… I ate a very strange looking one…"

Sabo's eyes widened in realization. "That was a Devil Fruit!"

Aura nodded. "It turned me bigger. I panicked; I didn't know how to turn myself back or if that was even possible. My friends didn't know what to do either. We thought that we should go back to Pixie Hollow and ask our Queen what we should do. And… that was when I was caught by a hunter… I could not fly as fast as I could when I was small. He sold me to a slave auction, and then your father bought me, with an extremely high bid because no one has ever captured a fairy before. And that is why I believed that your father wouldn't kill me."

Sabo grew silent as Aura told her story. A moment of curiosity led her captivity and this tragic way of life. It was like his father to spend an enormous amount of money on a fairy to put him at the top of the hierarchy in Goa Kingdom.

Noticing Sabo's expression sadden again, Aura reached her hand back and touched her wing. Then she put her hand in front of him. Some gold dust was covering her small fingers.

"This is called Pixie Dust. It is one of the key tools for flying."

Aura reached her hand over Sabo's head and rubbed her fingers together, dropping the Pixie Dust over his head. Sabo's feet slowly left the ground and the boy was both surprised and excited about the fact that he was floating. However, those soon turned into terror as he couldn't control his movements and felt like he was going to fall.

"Think of a happy memory!" Aura instructed.

Immediately, Sabo began to remember the day that Ace, Luffy, and he became brothers. Without a doubt, Sabo felt steadier in the air. But as soon as he tried to go in a direction, he lost control and fell to the ground.

"You just need more practice," Aura helped him up. "You did well already. I will help you practice, and you will be able to fly away in no time."

"No, we will," said Sabo. "We will escape together!"

"I can't," Aura shook her head and pointed to a metal device on her neck. "This neck brace will blow up at the push of a button if Master Outlook noticed that I'm gone."

Sabo frowned at the neck brace. "You are a fairy, right? You're supposed to be tiny, right? If you were your normal size, you'd be free of the neck brace!"

Aura lowered her head. "I do not know how to control this Devil's Fruit power. I have been stuck at this size ever since eating the fruit…"

"I will help you learn!" Sabo put both of his hands on Aura's shoulders. It startled Aura once again, but not as much as the first time. "Aura, I won't leave you behind this time!"

Aura was speechless, but she nodded before she even completely processed what Sabo just said. She had given up on her own freedom as soon as she was captured. She didn't understand why this boy was so determined to help her escape. Perhaps it was his own struggle to break away from his noble lineage. Or perhaps it was to cleanse his own mind of the corrupt practices that his family tried to force him into. Whatever it was, Aura was amazed by with just a few words, he had her believing that they had no chance of failing this mission.

* * *

To be Continued


End file.
